


Stories of Old

by drow3n



Category: DC Extended Universe, DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, F/F, F/M, Lois Lane-centric, Multi, Protective Kara Danvers, i have a basic misunderstanding of ancient greek culture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 20:41:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21994858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drow3n/pseuds/drow3n
Summary: Lois Lane dreams of being a story teller and travels to Athens to do so. Rumors of her beauty as well as her fantastic storytelling travels to the farthest of ears and attract more attention than she can handle.
Relationships: Arthur Curry/Mera, Kara Danvers & Diana (Wonder Woman), Kara Danvers/Lois Lane, Lois Lane/Clark Kent (one sided), Lois Lane/Lex Luthor (one sided), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne
Kudos: 9





	1. Roma to Athens

Lois stood at an average height, a slightly curved figure, dark brown hair that curled around her ears and a nose that perked upward a bit. She hailed from Roma, travelling to Graecia only to pursue storytelling. She adored the profession, had a penchant for it. She was expressive and loud, hardly ‘wife-material’, but perfect to tell stories. She had a naturally appealing voice, with rather perfect timing, moving into a grave or shrill tone when the time called for.  
She grew up hearing stories of the gods of Graecia: The God of Strength, Kal-El; The Goddess of Wisdom and Healing, Diana; The God and Goddess of the night, which had been adopted from another culture of which Lois was unaware of, Bruce and Selina; The god and Goddess of the Ocean, ruling over the calm seas and rough seas respectfully, Arthur and Mera; and Lois’ favorite, the goddess of War, Kara. Of course there were many others, but the stories told of those god's working in tandem to maintain justice and peace, a league like no other.  
Kara’s creation story was her absolute favorite. She came down to the human world in the form of a child, golden-haired and glowing. She was raised by mortals, alongside her cousin, the god of strength. She grew up simply only learning of her godly heritage years after her cousin did. She rose to the league after saving an entire farming village from a sea monster.

Lois felt nothing but excitement to start telling stories.

The wagon ride from her small village, outside of Roma, to Bari was grueling. Lois slept in hay, covering herself like a coward from the stares of others. She arrived in Bari on the dawn of her 4th day travelling. From Bari to Athens, she took a boat. This trip took four days as well; when she finally arrived she was exhausted. She gave the sailor manning the boat a few coins and stepped off.  
It was well into the morning when she arrived. Sun was warm and really rather high in the sky, the air dry. The harbor was bustling with activity; women and children, in tunics much brighter than Lois’s, browsed fish stalls. Soldiers from all over Greece lounged, taking the morning as a break time. It was hard for her to believe a little over a week ago, Lois would’ve been standing in the market of Rome, barely scraping by with stories of Gods that the children did not know. For a moment, Lois stood there. She felt out of place for the first time in her life. When she started walking, she minded children playing with driftwood sticks.  
Athens was much neater than she had imagined, white buildings and blue oceanfront, it was beautiful. From her stories, she knew the Goddess Diana blessed this city; she had heard rumors that the Goddess often protected the city. Lois, in her virginal white, stood by a well, where she knew she’d get the most attention. To get around, she knew she’d have to start her work early. Lois smiled, setting a small pouch on the ground, for coins to be tossed into. 

So she began, the story of Diana’s love:  
With a sweet tone in her voice, she spoke. “I come to tell you all a story, one that I’m sure you’ll remember nicely from your youth.” She laughed softly at that. “Long ago, the Goddess, Diana, on her island of warriors and healers, was the only goddess on her island. She grew into the goddess she is to this day there, but felt she needed more.” Lois, with her sweet tones and flourishes of her hands, attracted a few children, maybe a curious adult or two, at this point. “Diana wandered the shores of her island, aiding the occasional fish or crab back into the water, when something caught her eye.” Lois flourished her hand.

Something caught Diana’s eye indeed. Diana stood above the woman next to her, an older woman buying dates. The goddess stood in a red dress, the hem embroidered lovingly to denote her city-state. Dark hair, black in certain light, braided in an elaborate way, placed carefully to the back of her head with small, golden pins.  
She watched the storyteller carefully, noting every detail the young girl got wrong, but not out of malice, out of curiosity. The girl was talented at this, she’ll give her that. With a shawl wrapped as a hood over Diana’s hair, she approached the crowd of children and the scattered adults who hadn’t heard this story before. The young teller was clearly not of Graecia, she was paler than most, even in the yellowing sunlight. Her toga draped over her shoulder, in white, was uncommon in this world. Diana noted her features, clearly beautiful, as the teller told her audience of Diana’s first, forlorn love.  
When the story finished, the teller stayed behind, collecting her pay. The Goddess approached her softly, gingerly. “What an interesting take on that story. I am impressed.” Diana spoke when the girl stood straight.  
The girl laughed softly, “Thank you, I know the story as well as my own.”  
Diana nodded in response, then tossed a few coins into her pouch, in her hands. “I do hope you continue telling stories, little teller.” 

The compliments left Lois giddy, really. The woman who approached her was clearly older than herself and she seemed well off, considering she gave much more than expected. Though, Lois hadn’t noticed the hooded woman in the audience when she started the story, she collected herself.  
Still blushing, the young storyteller was rather happy with her cut today. 

Far from Lois’ darkening alleys of Athens, a man sitting in the lounge room of his estate, rich and well-fed from his hills of olive trees and wine grapes. Alexander, though his associates, colleagues and friends knew him as Lex, sat comfortably in a throne, marble imported from Roma, at the head of a table of merchants. He spoke sternly but softly, a warning.


	2. Mercenary Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lois is escorted to an estate

Word travels fast through the streets of Athens. Lex heard of the bright, beautiful young storyteller and deemed he must meet this new thing. He could use her exceptionally well. He demanded someone hire the finest mercenaries in Athens to escort her to him. 

Lois awoke with the sunrise. She dressed in soft cotton that had been hung to dry for the night. First on her itinerary, head to the market. She collected a bucket and the coins from yesterday’s story.  
The market in this section of Athens was a circle of stalls and hollowed out shacks. Lois walked, first to the well, then to a fruit vendor. Lois spoke slowly in greek, still growing used to it over latin. She eyed figs and grapes, eventually picking up two apples in exchange for three coins.   
She left one apple at the altar for the gods, but, without praying, disappeared down an alley eating the other. 

Beggars take food from the altars. Thin, leathered men who have been down on their luck for too long, that is when they take the food from altars. It is well known that the gods only really eat the energy of the food, so it was never truly an issue. But, a tanned, well toned arm reached for the apple instead, before any beggar could. Sunlight glimmered off the man's chestplate as he sliced the apple in half to share it with the woman next to him. His armor was gilded, his tunic underneath a deep blue.   
Kal-El handed half of apple to the woman. She too was tanned and toned, but scarred from battle. Her dress was pinned to a reveal armor underneath. A blue cotton that peaked to reveal her equally gilded armor and dyed leather warriors skirt. Blonde hair like gold, braided and tied with a thin leather string. Kara took one leather glove off and ate the apple gingerly. Both were radiant, the sun gave them a glow.   
The people of Athens paid them no mind, fancy mercenaries seeking the glory of once great heroes often passed through. They stood out but not intentionally, of course. The two stood separate from the morning crowd of the market, vendors would tell you the two were here almost everyday. Kara looked to her cousin after Lois had left to find him staring at her trail. She rolled her eyes and scoffed, speaking in a hushed but teasing tone. “I did not take you for the type to lust after mortals, Kal-El.” She bit her apple between remarks. “Though, I suppose I did not take you for the fruit type either. You never cease to surprise.”  
Kal-El, who’s eyes remained trained on Lois’ path even after he had turned to face Kara, furrowed his brow at her. “That is the one we were hired to escort. But, these storytellers are often full of hubris, we must be cautious.”  
“Especially around one so pretty, lover boy.” Kara walked, following were Lois went. “I’m sure she’ll definitely talk to the two menacing mercenaries that approach her.” Sarcasm laced her voice. She did not turn to speak to him, she knew he could hear her. She did not slow her pace, either, because she knew he could keep up. Instead she walked ever forward, approaching the port.   
“Diana said this is where she first saw her. Fresh off of a boat, telling the story of the man she had found on the island.” Kal-El, forever serious with his one-track mind, searched for Lois. He found her setting up for a story, two children already lingering around her.   
Kara had not been paying attention, eyeing a merchants wares. The man claimed to have precious items from the Island of the Amazons. Kara found this especially humorous, even laughing at some items. Diana blessed her home island centuries ago, so that it may remain invisible after she left. There was no way this merchant, this man, had found the island and lived long enough to steal all these things. Spears, women’s breastplates, stacks of folded tunics as well, woven softly with intricate gold designs in the fabric itself, as well as fabric so thin and so soft Kara could see light through it. Though it was obvious to Kara, though one did not need a god's infinite knowledge to realize, the weaponry and armor were from Sparta and the fine fabrics were from the East. This did not stop her buying a tunic of fine, patterned fabric and a shawl of the transparent material. She would have to show it to Diana. By the time Kara was done and she finally acknowledged Kal-El, Lois had started her story. 

Lois had attracted more than yesterday. She told the story of the Goddess of War, Kara, blessing a Spartan army before the Battle of Piraeus.   
“The exiles of Athens fought with strength unseen, taking out the Thirty Tyrants.” Lois flourished. “The Goddess of War, with armor so golden and so polished that it had shone like the sun and eyes so blue it is said that she can spy through the blue skies, saw these exiles. While she was impressed with their scrappy skills, Kara was the patron god of Sparta.” Lois smiled. “The Spartan army stood few and far at their camps. As they lit the fires at dusk, a brighter light appeared to them. Kara stood in the glowing embers of the bonfire, her sandals taking no damage! The armor she wore held the emblem of the sun as she stood before the soldiers and it shone like daylight. Spartans who saw her described her as beautiful, terrifying but beautiful.” Lois paused, making sure the children were still engaged. “She spoke, loud and blunt, and said:” Lois deepened her voice slightly, mimicking the thunder the Gods spoke with. “Spartans, you will win this battle, I assure you. But I demand these things if you desire a decisive victory. The Goddess made her demands, they must use their calvary wisely. They did not heed her claim, full of pride as she said they would win the battle no matter what. The force of Spartans slept soundly that night, without a decisive plan for their calvary. The next day, they prepared and Kara peered through the sky to watch. Spartans won the battle but suffered great losses because they had not listened to their goddess.” Lois finished softly.   
Coins were thrown into her satchel, she smiled and thanked anyone and everyone who had tossed.   
The mercenaries approached Lois, she had not noticed until she straightened back up. she stood, flinched and placed a hand on her chest, to slow her heart. “Oh! I apologize, you startled me.” 

Kara saw the way Kal-El looked at Lois. But, a lady as fine and as talented as her must be spoken for.   
Kal-El spoke first.   
“I am Kallikrates and this is my, uh, sister, Korianna. We were hired to escort you.” He spoke kindly, in a way Kara had never heard before.   
Lois suddenly looked overwhelmed, confused at the situation: the escort, the two, much taller mercenaries, the general otherworldliness of the encounter.   
Kara spoke next. “I apologize for my brother.” She rolled her purchases and held them under her arm against her waist. She smiled at Lois, almost apologetically for Kal-El. “Alexander Luthor of Athens heard of your arrival and hired us to escort you to his estate. You are Lois, yes?”  
Lois furrowed her brows and smiled back. “Yes, of course-” Before she could continue her sentence, Kal-El cut her off.   
“Then we will start the walk.” He began ahead of them. Kara and Lois were given a chance to speak.   
Kara watched Lois intently. She stood much taller than her and was visually opposite of her in most ever way. Kara noted the curl in Lois’ dark brown hair, how a small curl fell around her ear lobe. Her skin was light than Kara’s and much more pristine, less scarring. “You are not from Athens, are you Spartan?” Kara knew she wasn’t, every Spartan Kara has met was tanned and tall, just as she was.   
“Oh no, not at all. I’m from across the ocean, thank the gods of the oceans for the safe passage.” Kara noted these differences. Lois’ Greek was slow and careful, like a child’s. Her dress was a soft white, beginning to yellow in signs of age. She should’ve known she wasn’t native.   
Kara instinctively led Lois forward, a hand at the small of her back. The cotton felt as soft as it looked. “Athenian or not, you know the gods very well.”  
Lois took a moment to comprehend what Kara said, then laughed. “I pride myself on it. I have always wanted to be a storyteller, so I learned as much as I could.” Lois did not flinch at Kara’s touch. 

They arrived at Lex’s home as the sun had begun to set. Kal-El held the wooden door open, allowing Lois now to lead. He and Kara followed behind her, despite her slow and careful steps. The front corridor leads into a lounge room.   
The lounge room held a bald, but young, man sitting comfortably on a cushioned chair. The table ahead of him held parchments and a plate of figs. Lois stood in the archway before him for a moment before her noticed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3


End file.
